Chapter 33
?──── Kallan (Flashback) ────?
I stir from sleep, the warmth of dreams still clinging to my mind…until I feel the brush of fingers against my brow. My eyes blink open to find Serenya leaning over me, her fingertips gently moving a strand of hair from my face.
The moonlight frames her like something out of a fae tale, silver reflecting off her white hair and catching on the pale shimmer of her night cloak. Her expression is softer than usual, as if she didn’t mean to wake me, only to look.
I smile sleepily. “You’re in my room, love.”
A mischievous sparkle flickers in her eyes. “I noticed.”
I reach up, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. “Usually, I’m the one sneaking into yours.”
“Well,” she says, straightening up and folding her arms as if she hasn’t just been caught watching me sleep, “I thought I’d return the favor.”
I stretch, the blanket falling away to reveal my bare chest and the faint lines of old training scars across my stomach. I’m not exactly subtle about it.
Serenya’s eyes dip, lingering on my chest.
I grin. “You’re staring, Renya.”
“I am not,” she says too fast, eyes quickly darting away.
“You are,” I say, voice low and amused. “Don’t worry. I’d stare too.”
She rolls her eyes, but there is no heat to it. “Get dressed.”
I sit up, cocking my head. “Why? Are you kidnapping me? Because I think I’d be into that.”
“I’m taking you somewhere,” she says, laughing softly. “Hurry. Before someone realizes I’m gone.”
I don’t hesitate. I never would, not with her. “You realize I’d follow you anywhere, right?”
She pauses at the balcony door, not looking back. “I know,” she says, the smile evident in her voice.
I grin, standing to pull on my shirt and boots. When I cross the room to join her, she is already stepping onto the balcony, the night breeze lifting the edge of her cloak.
We don’t say anything more as we slip into the quiet dark, hands brushing as I follow her, our path lit only by the moon. Serenya doesn’t speak, only looks over her shoulder every now and then to make sure I’m keeping up, her eyes bright with some secret she’s excited to share.
Eventually, we reach the lake.
I blink, confused. “You brought me here…to swim?”
“Keep walking, soldier,” she says, lips curved in a small, unreadable smile.
I obey, watching the way she picks her way along the edge of the lake, quiet as a breeze. She ducks between two large, moss-covered boulders. Following, I find myself in another world.
On the other side of the rocks, hidden from view, is a small cave entrance, half-veiled by a curtain of ivy. Serenya slips inside like she belongs to the place, and I trail after her.
The cave opens up just a few steps in. It isn’t huge, but it’s stunning.
The ceiling above shimmers with clusters of glow worms, tiny specks of soft blue-green light that bathe the stone in a gentle radiance.
Our reflections dance across a still, mineral-rich pool tucked into the heart of the cavern. A hot spring.
“You found this today?” I ask, unable to stop staring at the glowing ceiling, at the way the water ripples faintly as if touched by magic.
There is pride in her smile. “I was out clearing my head and stumbled on it by accident. As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to bring you here.”
My gaze shifts from the cave to her. No. This is the beautiful part. Her . Everything else is only a backdrop.
She walks toward the edge of the spring, her cloak slipping from her shoulders. In the glow of the worms, the soft outlines of her curves are haloed in starlit blue. Without warning, she slides out of her dress and undergarments and into the water, her voice light as she glances over her shoulder.
“You’re staring.”
I grin. “You literally just stripped in front of me. What do you expect?”
She smirks and turns away, sinking into the water with a pleased sigh.
I follow, pulling off my clothes, heart beating faster—not just from desire, but from awe. Awe at her, at this place, at this moment.
As I step into the spring behind her, something catches my eye. Just below her shoulder blades, rising from her spine and curling outward across her skin, is a tattoo of fire and shadow woven together in elegant, mirrored swirls.
My throat tightens. I reach out and gently touch the ink with the tips of my fingers. Her skin, warm from the water, shivers under my touch.
“You did this for me…for us,” I murmur.
She hums in response as I lean down and press a kiss to the mark, reverent and tender. Slowly, I turn her to face me. Our eyes meet. I press my forehead against hers, my hands resting lightly on her waist in the water.
“I love it. And I love you, Renya,” I whisper. “Though I bear no mark to prove it, you are written into me, soul deep. There is no erasing you from me.”
She closes her eyes, a breath catching softly in her throat. Under the quiet glow of the cave, wrapped in warmth and water and each other’s arms, it feels like the world has stopped just to let us exist inside it.